Shipping bag



R. F. HERDER Feb. 27, 1934.

SHIPPING BAG Filed May 16, 1930 IN VEN TOR A TTORNE Y5 Patented Feb. 27, 1934 FFiCE SHIPPING BAG Raymond Frederick Herder, Bloomfield, N. 5., assignor to George & Sherrard Paper 00., New York, N. Y., a corporation or? West Virginia Application May 16, 1930 Serial No. 452,888

1 Claim.

This invention relates to shipping containers, and is illustrated and described herein for the purpose of illustration as embodied in a paper bag for shipping bananas.

5 It is the present practice to ship bananas in heavy paper bags with the stem of the bunch projecting out of the bag so that the bunch can be suspended by the stem. The mouth of the bag is closed and made fast with a piece of string or wire. The bananas thus enclosed cannot be readily inspected by the port authorities who wish to ascertain that the bags reaily contain bananas, or that they are free from parasitic diseases, nor can they be inspected by the consig- 5 nee to determine the condition of the The paper of the bag is strong and hard to tear. To untie the mouth of the bag and re-tie it takes time, and does not adequately expose the bananas unless the bananas are taken out of the bag.

To remove the bananas and replace them is slow and laborious.

In accordance with the present invention provision is made of a heavy paper bag having a hole through which the stem may be passed for 26 suspending the bananas, and having one or more zones marked oh by lines of perforations to provide easy tearing lines. Small finger openings are desirably provided at the ends of these zones so that a finger may be inserted to grasp the 30 paper and start the tear. The tearing zone extends substantially throughout the length of the bag, so that when the tearing is completed the contents of the bag are fully exposed. The en tire bunch of bananas can, in fact, be readily withdrawn from the bag through the opening thus made by reaching the hand into the bag, grasping the stem, and drawing the bunch out, stem first, through the tear made in the side of the bag. On the other hand, the bananas may be left in the bag for further handling without too great a sacrifice of protection, by reason of the strip having been torn from the bag.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawing forming part of this specification, the figure illustrates a bag embodying the invention and having a bunch of bananas enclosed therein.

The illustrative bag comprises a body portion 1 and a sealing fiap 2, the flap being illustrated as attached to the body portion by a sewed seam 3. The closed end of the bag has an opening 4 formed therein through which the stem 5 of a bunch of bananas 6 extends.

to mouth of the bag is held closed by suitable cord or Wire 7. The bananas are adapted to be suspended by the stem in transit while enclosed in the bag.

In order to facilitate inspection of the bananas and. removal of them from the bag, longitudinally extending strips 8 of the body portion are marked ofi by lines of perforations 9. The lines of perforations 9 bounding one of the strips are substantially parallel to one another throughout the major portion of their lengths. At the upper end of each strip a finger opening 10 is provided, and at the lower end a finger opening 11 is provided, so that a person wishing to examine or remove the contents of the bag may readily pass his finger through to the inner side of the strip 8 at either the upper or lower end thereof and tear the strip bodily out of the bag.

It will, of course, be understood that the duplication of the detachable strips is not a neces sary feature of the invention. It is, however, a desirable feature, since it assures ready access to a removable strip. Neither is the provision of finger openings at both the upper and lower ends of the strip necessary. This, too, is desirable, however, since it enables the person wishing to open the bag to seize the strip at the end that best suits his convenience. It further makes it possible, in case a tear which has been started should leave the intended tear line, to start a fresh tear from the opposite end of the strip.

It will be observed that when a strip 8 has been removed an opening is provided in the side of the bag which extends almost the entire length thereof. The entire contents of the bag may be fully exposed through this opening, or may, if desired, be conveniently removed through the opening without the necessity for untying the mouth of the bag and reaching the hand into the bag from the mouth to grasp the stem.

I have described what I believe to be the best embodiment of my invention. I do not wish, however, to be confined to the embodiment shown, but what I desire to cover by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claim.

I claim:

A paper shipping bag for bananas having a longitudinal stripe thereof marked off for removal by weakened tear lines, and having a permanentiy closed end with a stem opening provided therethrough, means forming a reinforcement for the closed end, said reinforcement being completely broken through and interrupted by the stem opening, the tear lines being long enough to provide a sufiicient opening to permit full inspection of the bananas without removing the bunch from its support and extending to a finger opening which is located in proximity to the stem opening and adapted to facilitate tearing through to the stem opening to enable the bag to be removed from the bunch without removing the bunch from its support.

RAYMOND FREDERICK HERDER. 

